Church Foreclosures Surge, Seen as 'Next Wave' in Crisis

Fox News| The Wall Street Journal  January 25, 2011

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/25/churches-end-nigh/?intcmp=prn_baynote-js_Church_Foreclosures_Surge_Seen_as_Next_Wave_in_Crisis

ROSEVILLE, Calif.—Residential and commercial real-estate owners aren't the only ones losing their properties to foreclosure. The past few years have seen a rapid acceleration in the number of churches losing their sanctuaries because they can't pay the mortgage.

Just as homeowners borrowed too much or built too big during boom times, many churches did the same and now are struggling as their congregations shrink and collections fall owing to rising unemployment and a weak economy.

Since 2008, nearly 200 religious facilities have been foreclosed on by banks, up from eight during the previous two years and virtually none in the decade before that, according to real-estate services firm CoStar Group, Inc. Analysts and bankers say hundreds of additional churches face financial struggles so severe they could face foreclosure or bankruptcy in the near future.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/25/churches-end-nigh/?intcmp=prn_baynote-js_Church_Foreclosures_Surge_Seen_as_Next_Wave_in_Crisis

20110125 Fox WSJ Church Foreclosures Surge

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